Thank You Kindly

A little while ago I created this card and entered it in the washi tape challenge at Catered Crop.  Lo and behold Linda chose my card and I'm so honored to be featured on her blog as I play along with her Thank You Kindly challenge.

The latest challenge at CAS(E) This Sketch provided the inspiration for my layout and I went with a simple color scheme of red, black and white, which gave me the chance to ink up these pretty poppy stamps.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Another Thank You (SU); Poppy Birthday (Verve)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Basic Black (SU)

Ink:  Poppy Parade (SU); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Pierced Square STAX (My Favorite Things); washi tape

Happy Holidays, TSOT144

I have been procrastinating about making my Christmas cards this year and I don't really know why.   But now that we are nearly half-way through November mild panic has begun to set in.  I've got a half-formed plan to set aside a few days next week to concentrate on Christmas and to get me in the mood I made this card last night.

The layout for this comes from the new sketch at Try Stampin' on Tuesdays.  It's got a tag on it and it's no secret that tags get me every time so I just had to play along!  I paper pieced some Christmas trees using one of the images from Jolly Holiday and stamped the sentiment from Christmas Magic on the banner.

After a bit of a cold snap the temperatures are expected to go back into the high fifties towards the end of the week.  This is great news because I really need to get the vegetable garden cleaned up for the winter and I hate working outside when it's cold.  It's also great news because I hate winter and I'm not ready for it yet!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Jolly Holiday, Christmas Magic (The Alley Way Stamps)

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Silver Glimmer (SU)

Ink:  Pitch Black (Adirondack), Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Tag Me die (Reverse Confetti); Season of Style washi, Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon (SU); Classic Scallop Small, Classic Circle small (Spellbinders)

Freshly Made Sketches 112

This week at Freshly Made Sketches our hostess is Jen Brum and she's got a very cool sketch for us!  When I first saw it I couldn't decide whether I should use patterned paper, washi tape or what!  I finally decided to use good old-fashioned stamps!

I used the colors at Dynamic Duos and although I should have used them to make a Christmas card to add to my paltry supply I couldn't resist making this instead.

The Freshly Made Sketches design team have once again knocked it out of the park with their cards so head on over and check them out.  Hope to see you in the gallery!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Textures 1, Textures 2 (Florileges Design); Grunge Star (Impression Obsession); Take Note (Verve)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah)

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Always Artichoke (SU); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Kraft Blend sequins (Avery Elle)

Fantabulous!

I will admit that when I first saw the new challenge (not so new anymore since it debuted last Thursday!) at CAS(E) This Sketch I sort of ran in the opposite direction.  But the more I stared at the cards from the design team and cards in the gallery the more I wanted to give it a try.

I grabbed some old DSP from my stash and this fun speech bubble from Spell Check and put them together.  Easy peasy!  I love it when a card comes together easily!  I guess I didn't need to be afraid of that sketch after all!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Spell Check (The Alley Way Stamps)

Paper:  Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Comfort Cafe DSP (SU)

Ink:  Enchanted Evening (Papertrey Ink)

colourQ 215

I'm pretty sure the new color palette from colourQ should have had me reaching for some autumn leaves, but I couldn't resist trying something a little different.

I spent a lot of time deciding how I wanted to approach my card for this week's challenge.  I had seen this awesome sketch at Sketch Frenzy Friday and was determined to make it work somehow.  But once I settled on the sketch I couldn't figure out what colors should go where.  After much trial and error I settled on the arrangement you see here.  My only regret is that I wish I had stamped off the grid pattern stamp to make it a little more subtle.  Oh, and I wish I had a better idea for the horizontal flag at the top.  But that's it.  Really.

The rest of the colourQ team have made some wonderful cards for you this week, so make sure you head on over there and check them out.  I hope you can join us in the gallery!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Off the Grid (SU); Delightful Dahlia Additions (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:  Solar White (Neenah); Bravo Burgundy, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry, Whisper White (SU)

Ink:  Rich Razzleberry, Basic Gray (SU); Pitch Black (Adirondack); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  Pierced Rectangle STAX (My Favorite Things); Flag Tag dies (Paper Smooches); Halloween sequins (American Crafts)

BE Inspired 41

TGIF!  Today there are two reasons to celebrate:  my vacation starts at 5:30 tonight and there's a brand new BE Inspired challenge at The Alley Way Stamps blog!

I started thinking about all those dots in the inspiration photo when I sat down to make my card.  So I rooted around in my stash of DSP until I found some polka dotted paper that almost matched the colors in the photo exactly.  I used that to paper piece the coffee mug from Breakfast Club, added the coffee sentiment and a few hearts from tag-alongs and I was done!  The colors for the flags also come from that DSP and the fun layout is the latest sketch challenge at Sunday Stamps.

If you play along with the BE Inspired challenge you can win a free stamp set!  Just use an image from The Alley Way Stamps on your project.  That's it!  And if you don't have any stamps you can find FREEBIE images here!  One lucky person will be hand picked and one person will be randomly chosen.  Both will win a free stamp set!

I hope you have a chance to play along!

Freshly Made Sketches 111

Today is not only the day to reveal the newest sketch at Freshly Made Sketches it is also only three more days until I'm on vacation!  Yay me!

And yay for our newest sketch designed by the talented (and modest) Linda Callahan.  When I first saw the sketch I had a pretty clear idea what I wanted to do, but then I saw the color challenge at Dynamic Duos and totally scrapped my original idea and went with this.

I can't seem to stop reaching for Gorgeous Grunge and for this card used it to create a little grungy background which I then highlighted with the chevron images.  The accent is this gorgeous butterfly that I stamped in Bermuda Bay then clear embossed.  I like doing that because it give the card stock some substance and creates a pretty shiny image.  A few enamel dots later and I was done!

Christmas cards abound at Freshly Made Sketches, but you'll also find a birthday and a breast cancer awareness card so make sure you head over there to check them out!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge, Great Friend (SU); Sketchy Chevron Border (Impression Obsession); Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)

Paper:  Neenah Solar White

Ink:  Real Red, Bermuda Bay (SU); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Accessories:  My Girl Enamel Dots (My Minds Eye); clear embossing powder

Sew Easy!

Yay, it's Wednesday!  Today I've got a fun card using some more sewing images from In Stitches.  Check out the blanket stitch!

The stitches look so real!  And to continue with my realistic look, I wrapped real baker's twine around the spool.  I can't take credit for that idea because I borrowed it from my fellow TAWS DT member Christine.  I love how it gives texture to the card and since I popped up the spool with some thick glue dots this card has got nice dimension too.

The latest Seize the Sketch layout was perfect to add a wee bit of some really old DSP called Spring Showers.  

  

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be back in a bit with a card for the newest Freshly Made Sketches challenge!

Supplies:

Stamps:  In Stitches (The Alley Way Stamps)

Paper:  Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Whisper White, Spring Showers DSP (SU); X-Press It Blending Card

Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue (SU); Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copics

Accessories:  Banner Trio die (WPlus9)